The attack on local Christians and Western tourists in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday grieved all people of good will, but especially Catholics around the world on the day we celebrated Jesus’s conquering death and darkness. The tragedy calls us to enter more deeply into the mystery of Eastertide, to reflect on what it means to be an Easter people living in a postmodern age, and how we choose to bear witness to the Truth and beauty that is Jesus Christ in a broken world.
Several weeks have passed since 258 people died in the terrorist bombings of three churches and three luxury hotels. Between 500 to 700 are reported as injured and in need of medical and psycho-social care. It has since come to light that St Mary’s Catholic Church in Dehiwala, a fourth target, was spared as an unrelated robbery the previous evening resulted in police presence on site that Easter morning.
